Joey de Leon, Tito Sotto slam ‘Eat Bulaga’ cancellation, bankruptcy rumors
Joey de Leon (left) and Tito Sotto. Images: Screengrab from YouTube/TVJ
Joey de Leon and Tito Sotto firmly dismissed rumors that the TV5 noontime show “Eat Bulaga” would go off-air due to low profit, with de Leon challenging rumor mongers to look for a show that can last for 45 years.
De Leon and Sotto addressed the rumors during the “Gimme 5: Laro ng Mga Henyo” segment of “Eat Bulaga’s” April 17 episode, where the former senator called out certain “liars” for making rumors against the noontime show.
“May mga sinungaling na nagkakalat na nalulugi raw tayo at magsasara na raw tayo (There are liars who spread rumors that we are losing and ending the show for good),” said Sotto while co-host Allan K chimed in, pretending to ask if the rumors were indeed true.
De Leon then accused the rumor mongers of being “jealous” while challenging the other camp to be named one of the “top five longest-running TV shows in the world,” without addressing anyone in particular.
“Bastusan na kasi ang labanan eh. Bastusan. Siraan. Walang kwenta. Mag-enjoy lang tayo. Umabot muna kayo ng 45 years, longest-running top five in the world. Mainggit kayo! Wala eh. Gan’un talaga. Kasama naman kayo. Dapat ‘to kasi buong Pilipinas ‘yung dala namin eh. Bakit kayo ganyan? Ang sasama ng ugali niyo,” he added.
(They are playing dirty. Rude. Tearing people down. Such a waste. Let’s just enjoy. Make sure to last for 45 years, the longest-running top five in the world. Be green with envy! You can’t do anything about it. It’s like that. You’re part of this too since we’re carrying our country’s name. Why are you like that? You’re all mean!)
De Leon was referring to a tally he shared on Instagram last April 14 that named “Eat Bulaga” as the second longest-running TV show in the world. The source of his photo, however, remained unknown.
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To deny the rumors, Sotto promised to show a copy of the show’s income tax to the media.
“Para mapatunayan na sila ang sinungaling, bukas bibigyan natin ng kopya ang media ng file sa BIR ng ating income tax para makita nila (To prove they are indeed lying, we’ll provide a copy of our BIR income tax to the media for proof),” he said.
De Leon then agreed with the former politician, challenging a certain show to last for 15 years. “Ito ang hamon ko sa inyo. Umabot kayo ng 15 years para lumuhod ako sa harapan ninyo. 15 lang ah. By that time, para bumyahe na ako.”
(This is my challenge for you. Make sure to last 15 years so I can kneel in front of you. Just 15. Maybe by that time, I can put this to rest.)
Sotto, on the other hand, advised bashers to not believe such rumors.
‘Eat Bulaga’ hounded by rumors
There have been speculations that “Eat Bulaga” would go off-air for good, including claims by entertainment insider and talent manager Ogie Diaz and Loi Villarama on Diaz’s vlog on Tuesday, April 16. There have also been reports on social media and by the Philippine Entertainment Portal about the noontime show’s allegedly low budget.
“Is the country’s longest-running noontime show having problems with its budget?” Villarama said while reading a post from one Kapatid Insider on Facebook. “One of the problems of the said production is the increasing amount of its annual budget, while the revenues of the program from its sponsors and advertisements decrease.”
Meanwhile, Diaz expressed the hope that the rumors surrounding the noontime show were not true, citing its possible effects on the hosts and production staff.
“Mahigit apat na dekada na ang ‘Eat Bulaga.’ Sana magtuloy-tuloy. May tinatawag na adjust, ang pag-adjust ng hosts or talent fee nila, pwedeng ibaba. Para lang makaagapay,” he said. “Kapag main concern mo ang Dabarkads, kailangan mong mag-serbisyo.”
(“Eat Bulaga” has been on the air for more than four decades. I hope it will continue. There’s a thing called adjustment, the hosts can adjust or lower their talent fees to be able to cope. If your main concern is your Dabarkads, you need to be of service.)
INQUIRER.net has reached out to Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto and Joey de Leon’s (TVJ) camp for a copy of the show’s income tax, but it has yet to respond as of this writing.
